06 March 2022

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OrthoNU: Ingenious scaling of orthodontics.

interview with Sima Yakoby Epstein, Founder and CEO at OrthoNu, a pioneer Company in the advancement of oral healthcare.

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Tell us about yourself, your job, and what you like the most?

I come from a Georgian immigrant culture and mentality where the American dream is real and anything in life is possible and worth fighting for.  I have always loved the feeling of being able to work so hard and give everything I can to accomplish any goal.  I remember doing a cartwheel in the empty hallways of my college pillars, amazed, exhausted, and delighted in the results that came from incredible motivation and discipline.  I then knew that life’s happiness was somewhere intermingled with pushing yourself so hard that you surprised yourself to the point of knowing that you were responsible for your next move and all the while relishing in your successes and creating more reasons to continue to celebrate.  When my face crashed into a dashboard and all I could see was blood, I feel that was the impetus of all my life’s work.  I remained a patient my whole life with the knowledge of an Orthodontist to create my passion, living though the emotions of all my patients and being able to create solutions to what concerns them and makes them feel vulnerable.  I like to be in control, and I feel having knowledge and the correct tool in life makes you live life differently.  I want to give that power to everyone.  I want to see confident smiles, warmed hearts, and motivated souls.  I feel like my compassion for all people drives me to want to give in every way I can.  What I enjoy most is knowing that I was able to shift the path, imagine hope and make a difference in a human’s life.  I want to carry everyone and make them feel safe and strong.  That’s the heart I was given, so I am ready to give.  The thought of helping people of all walks of life globally gives me the chills. As an Orthodontist, I was able to transform children’s smiles, ease parent’s minds and create dramatic results.  I want to get there; I want to change the Orthodontic industry by giving people the ability to have all the power to succeed. 

How did the idea for OrthoNU come to life, and when did it become a real project? 

I knew that during Covid, I felt the most motivated to do something impactful. I looked at what I knew was needed all those years as the patients left the office. They felt vulnerable and stressed and unsure of the inevitable issues that would arise.  I said to myself, I know exactly what my patient’s need.  No more toenail clippers, no more MacGyver antics for emergencies.  I will create the ideal toolbox.  It will have every pain point addressed and it will be a different experience. So, it started in my basement, and I started drawing this tool that ended up looking like a swiss army knife.  I thought it was brilliant and continued to think of what came to be my pipeline of 18 products and solutions.  It was incredible to see how much I knew needed to be changed in that 20-year-old goody bag and I was going to be the first one to attempt to create a more modern, innovative tool box that represented the way I wanted my patients to feel. So, it became real when my friend Erin Romanowski pushed me to make the next step, call my brother Raphael Yakoby and get the number of a patent lawyer.  From then, I knew this just became my reality.  Orthonu was now a business to create and make sure it succeeded no matter what had to be done.  

What does OrthoNU stand for?

I wanted to let people know it was for the Orthodontic community, hence ORTHO and NU was interesting to me because when written together in a certain font nu looks like the infinity symbol infusing the way I feel about life’s abundance and endless hope.  Coming from a beautiful Georgian culture, a common expression would be, “NU!!!” meaning let’s go, what’s going to be? Keep going, change gears, up you go.  A small word which kept me motivated throughout my life as a young girl and even now.  Lastly, it represents the “NEW”, the innovation of what can be.  New things to aspire to be, to do and live. 

What are the needs that OrthoNU addresses?      

                     is a pioneer in the advancement of oral healthcare.  It is a self-care brand for Orthodontics, a new category in the CPG space, with a focus on emergency care, oral hygiene, and oral aesthetics.  It transforms society’s understanding that mouthcare as equal to healthcare and our mission is to eliminate the pain and embarrassment of wearing braces and aligners. 

How would you describe the profile of your target audience?

My target audience is the 8.4 million patients that get braces annually in the US.  70% of the moms getting aligners are bringing their children to the office.  So, at every visit, I have my target audience. 

What are the benefits for dental professionals, and what are the benefits for end-users?  

With my colleagues and all dental professionals, it changes the game for the way their day schedule and after hours is created.  We decrease unexpected visits that cause stress to the time management of other patients as well as decreases the ambiguity of after-hours calls that seem hopeless and creates more anxiety for the patient.  With the advent of telehealth, it takes the tension and intense feeling of the unknown for the children and parents running to work, school, vacations, and sports. It gives them a solution to what would have typically been a real issue in the innerworkings of day-to-day life.  The patients feel confident that they have their self-care solutions and the doctors see the benefit of having the problems addressed so efficiently.

What are the difficulties and risks you might encounter? 

My difficulties have turned into the inevitable expectations that everything will go wrong, and it will only matter how quickly I can pivot and figure out the next step, the next best solution. The other fact is, I don’t know what I don’t know so it’s a constant education in the world of business.  Lastly, my only risk is that I don’t scale fast enough to grow and become the first to market for self-care solutions for the Orthodontic profession.

What are the main goals you have set for the company? 

To expand, to scale and create the new golden standard of care in the Dental Industry.  I want the keynote leaders, the incredible mentors, the Orthodontic businesses to all expand and realize we can do better for our patients and together, with all our brilliance joined, we can accomplish it. 

What are the most effective distribution channels?  

For me it is about creating a movement with the Orthodontic offices, 11,000 in the US and then worldwide to create the change within the office.  Once we can give it to the dental distributors and dental companies, the understanding and knowledge of Orthonu will have a reputation that precedes itself, giving the opportunity for direct to consumer to be successful.

The dental market in the US is changing; what do you think?  

“If we don’t change, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow, we aren’t really living.”  - Gail Sheehy.  I think the dental industry especially the Orthodontics Industry is growing dramatically and will continue to increase with the interest of self-care and health and wellness being at the forefront. It’s a very exciting time and I am so honored to be a part of this expansive shift.  

What does be a female entrepreneur in the US dental industry today mean? 

I live by this quote to achieve success in life.   “You have to learn the rules of the game, and then you have to play better than anyone else. “- Albert Einstein.

Being a female means changing the way I viewed myself and what I was capable of.  I had to shift to becoming a super woman in the most vulnerable moments to create that positive reinforcement in myself. I had to dig deep to believe that my purpose was so great, my true motivation in life was so pure that the universe would show me the way and teach me everything I needed to know along the way.   I am still stepping one foot in front of the other.  I still dream of flying around the world giving these new innovative devices for preventive healthcare to underprivileged communities and changing the trajectory of an innocent child’s life.  Together, we got this!!!

About Sima Yakoby Epstein

Dr. Sima Yakoby received her DMD and Clinical Orthodontics Degree at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine. She has over 10 years of Orthodontics experience and taught Aesthetic Dentistry at NYU. 

Sima serves on the board of Open-Heart Yoga and Bloom Again non-profits and believes strongly in supporting those with socioeconomic difficulties struggling to access health care.

She created Orthonu with a goal to empower every patient in treatment – no matter how daunting the task in the moment. Her passion stems from two things. First, as an Orthodontist, she sees the gaps in tools available for her patients to help themselves solve the oral challenges that inevitably arise. Second, as a girl, Sima's face, teeth, and jaw were broken in a car accident. She went through years of treatment and understands what Orthodontic patients feel. Sima believes strongly that giving patients the confidence over their own oral healthcare is the greatest gift that she can give. She does that with each individual patient. 

Now, with OrthoNu, she can provide her professional solutions to anyone. No longer will patients have to wait for an emergency orthodontist visit for routine issues. Like the advent of home teeth-straightening, home care for orthodontics will reshape how patients experience orthodontics. Sima also understands that oral health is aligned with physical health – and that it can be the window to early detection of other diseases. That's why she is partnering with the University of Pennsylvania on clinical research to create oral healthcare solutions that transcend into the medical fields. 

About OrthoNU

OrthoNU is a pioneer Company in the advancement of oral healthcare.  It is a professional grade self-care brand for Orthodontics, a new category in the CPG space, with a focus on emergency care, oral hygiene, and oral aesthetics.  We transform society’s understanding that mouthcare is equal to healthcare and create our mission to eliminate the pain and embarrassment of wearing braces and aligners. OrthoNu is a premium self-care oral health solution and new gold standard in orthodontic care that provides a new sense of 24/7 security and positive outcomes for patients.  With its beautiful design that transforms dental care into functional beauty (aka lifestyle brand) and a full line of proprietary products for orthodontia and dental health.  

About the product

Tweakz, is our revolutionary product already embraced by orthodontists and dental companies.  Our go-to-market for Tweakz creates relationships and distribution channels to sell our additional 18 patent pending products in the pipeline which is our path to scale.  As a doctor - preventive healthcare is my end goal - I’ve already sponsored research with University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine & Penn Innovation Center to enable that powerful future shift.